The city of Solon received a 2019 Energized Community Grant from Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) for “nearly $89,000,” which it will use to “assist with municipal efficiency upgrades,” Cleveland.com reports. That money “will be added to the roughly $92,000 Energized Community Grant awarded by NOPEC late last year,” the article reports. City Finance Director Matt Rubino said Solon anticipates applying the combined $181,000 toward “new LED lighting and various equipment upgrades like heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and other building systems.” For more, read the full article.

New findings from BloombergNEF (BNEF) show “corporations globally bought a record amount of clean energy through power purchase agreements (PPAs) in 2018, shattering the previous record set in 2017,” nawindpower.com reports. BNEF’s “1H 2019 Corporate Energy Market Outlook” showed 121 corporations in 21 countries signed a combined 13.4 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy contracts, compared to 6.1 GW in 2017. “More than 60% of the global activity in 2018 occurred in the U.S., where companies signed PPAs to purchase 8.5 GW of clean energy, representing nearly triple the amount signed in 2017,” the article reports. For more, read the full article.

JobsOhio’s annual report for 2018 shows the nonprofit agency helped 266 companies that created 27,071 jobs with $1.3 billion in new payroll, Crain’s Cleveland reports. That number represents a 19% increase over 2017. Those companies also “made $9.6 million in capital investments,” a “new high for the 8-year-old nonprofit,” according to the article. A performance assessment that JobsOhio commissioned last year (see our August 16, 2018 blog post) “ranked JobsOhio among the top five in a group of 17 state economic development organizations it used for comparison,” and identified areas where the organization could improve. For more, read the full article.

The Ohio Tax Credit Authority (TCA) awarded tax credits to three Ohio companies whose expansion plans will “add a total of nearly 600 jobs and $31.2 million in payroll,” Crain’s Cleveland reports. The Great Lakes Cheese Co. “expects to create 400 full-time positions, generating $23.8 million in new annual payroll” as part of its headquarters expansion; the TCA approved a 2.281%, 10-year Job Creation Tax Credit for that project. Youngstown Tool and Die Co. will construct a new plant and add 60 new jobs that will create $2.5 million in annual payroll. Morgan Truck Body LLC “won a $1.293%, eight-year tax credit for its plan to create 139 new full-time jobs in Orrville,” adding $4.9 million in new annual payroll. For more, read the full article.

Madison Township will use part of a Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC) grant to purchase and install energy efficient replacement windows in the Bill Stanton Community Park banquet hall, The News-Herald reports. The township received a $47,362 NOPEC Energized Community grant for 2019, and “has a $31,000 carryover from the same program last year,” according to the article. Money from the grant will also be used to install “a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit for the township Administration Building.” For more, read the full article.

The Clark and Miami County Farm Bureau Board of Trustees and Public Policy Action Team will sponsor a special briefing on solar energy development Monday, March 25, at the Champaign County Community Center, the Troy Daily News reports. Champaign and Miami County Farm Bureau members are invited to attend. Dale Arnold, Ohio Farm Bureau Federation Director for Energy, Utility and Local Government Issues, will facilitate the meeting. Arnold will discuss “potential solar energy generation evaluation activities in the area, energy market trends, remediation standards, as well as regulatory agencies governing different types of energy development,” according to the article. For more, read the full article.

Businesses and organizations in the city of Tallmadge “now have the opportunity to borrow money to pay for energy improvement projects and then repay the loan through a special assessment,” MyTownNEO reports. Tallmadge City Council recently approved making the city a member of the Akron-Summit County Energy Special Improvement District (ESID). Businesses, non-profits and governmental agencies in the ESID can fund energy upgrades to lighting, heating and air conditioning, roofing and other systems and repay the loan through an assessment against the property. For more, read the full article.

The second Lordstown gas-fired power plant, the 940-megawatt Trumbull Energy Center, will generate not just power but “impressive numbers” in economic activity, The Vindicator reports. The plant “will produce $149 million in property taxes for Lordstown and Trumbull County over the next 50 years,” according to the article. Additionally, it will generate “$1.9 million in income taxes and $85 million of profit taxes for Lordstown over that span.” During the 34-month construction period, the power plant will generate $137 million in union wages, with 1 percent paid to Lordstown as income taxes. The company will spend $617 million on materials and services during construction and operation. For more, read the full article.

Paulding County’s fourth wind farm is expected to be completed and operating by the end of 2019, The Van Wert Independent reports. The Ohio Power Siting Board authorized Paulding Wind Farm IV LLC to construct the 37-turbine Timber Road IV Wind Farm near Payne, according to the article. The wind farm will have “a total generating capacity of up to 125.1 megawatts,” and will connect to the regional transmission grid via underground electric collection lines. Paulding Wind Farm IV “is expected to bring in more than $1 million in additional revenues to the county.” For more, read the full article.

Google recently confirmed it “plans to develop a $600 million data center in New Albany this year,” ThisWeek Community News reports. Montauk Innovations, a Google affiliate, “has purchased 447 acres in Franklin and Licking counties for $54.5 million,” according to the article. Google “has received millions of dollars in state and local tax incentives for the project,” with state tax incentives estimated to be $43.5 million. Kenny McDonald, chief economic officer for Columbus 2020, tweeted, “@Cbusregion is proud to be a partner of one of the world’s greatest enterprises.” For more, read the full article.